đź“– Chapter 1177 - Master is Watching!
Many years ago, in the Underworld Dream…
Ming Kunzi stood in front of Wang Baole. His eyes were gentle, but his expression was stern as he spoke to Wang Baole about cultivation.
“Baole, what should we cultivators of the Underworld Sect do next after Soul Guide?”
“Master, after using Soul Guide, I have to perceive the Heavenly Dao and the cycle of reincarnation and draw the Corpse Face. Then I have to determine the fated trajectory of the soul’s next life and connect the threads of karma. After everything is completed, I can send it into the cycle of reincarnation for the Heavenly Dao to review. If it’s successful, then the soul moves on to its next life. If not… it means my cultivation is still lacking.”
“Very good.”
… …
Wang Baole opened his eyes and looked at the third floor of the tomb that he’d arrived in after stepping through the door of light. Here, a sea of endless white clouds stretched as far as the eye could see. Aside from the clouds, the only thing that could be seen was… a cliff.
At the bottom of the cliff was a table, and on top of the table was a brush.
It was the Corpse Face Brush.
Looking at the scene before him, Wang Baole instantly thought back to his time in the Underworld Dream. At the same time, he finally figured out why this Underworld Emperor Tomb was so bizarre.
“This place isn’t just a tomb, it’s also a trial and… an inheritance.
“All these arrangements are set up to assess the disciples and verify that they’re worthy of the Underworld Emperor’s inheritance.”
Murmuring softly, Wang Baole turned his head to look at the miniature Underworld River beside him and the countless souls within. In silence, he took a step that brought him in front of the cliff and sat down at the table.
Wang Baole closed his eyes again, seemingly immersed in his memories. When he reopened them a while later, they were completely serene. With a flip of his hand, the countless clouds around him streamed into his Underworld River and fused with the souls inside. Then… waves of emotion surged in Wang Baole’s heart, and he seemed to see faces flashing in front of him one after another.
After a moment, he lifted his right hand and picked up the brush on the table. Following this, a soul flew out of the Underworld River and floated in front of him. Expression calm, movements practiced, as if he had returned to the Underworld Dream of so many years ago…
Wang Baole began drawing the Corpse Face.
It was difficult to draw a Corpse Face because not even the slightest error was allowed. A slip of the brush would affect the soul’s next life. A mistaken feature would affect the cultivator’s own Dao heart.
When drawing a Corpse Face, there could be no selfishness. In the past, Chen Qingzi had taken the wrong path precisely because of a tiny bit of selfishness.
Wang Baole didn’t know how well he would do. After all, it had already been a long time since he last drew a Corpse Face, and the path he followed could even be considered contrary to the Underworld Sect.
“But this is also a kind of karma…” Shaking his head, Wang Baole suppressed his scattered thoughts and calmed himself down. Brushstroke by brushstroke, he slowly sketched out the soul in front of him. Gradually, its body appeared, its gender was determined, and its facial features were filled in.
During the entire process, Wang Baole’s hands didn’t shake in the slightest. Although he was a little rusty, the detached mentality of a divine spirit made it so that Wang Baole’s whole body exuded an inexplicable mystery of Dao.
This Dao was the Heavenly Dao. It was… the Underworld Sect’s Dao.
Outside the Underworld Emperor Tomb, outside even the true Underworld River, a soft sigh echoed out. However, nobody heard it. It only lingered in the heart of Chen Qingzi for a long time…
Even from the outside world, Chen Qingzi could see everything going on in the Underworld Emperor Tomb.
He saw Wang Baole’s experiences in the temple above the tomb. He saw that after Wang Baole left, everyone else in the temple gradually awakened and entered the next floor as well.
He also saw what had happened in the first floor of the upside-down pagoda. Endless killing intent had surrounded Wang Baole, heavy and vicious enough to wipe out his divine soul.
It was only after Wang Baole gave up all resistance and offered a deep bow to show his intentions that the killing intent slowly disappeared.
Similarly, Chen Qingzi saw that most of the Underworld Sect cultivators who had entered the first floor after Wang Baole failed the trial. Unable to let go of their selfish intentions, they died there.
As for Wang Baole unleashing Soul Guide in the second floor, and drawing Corpse Faces in the third floor… Chen Qingzi saw all of this, and that was why he sighed.
Indeed, Wang Baole was the greatest hope of the Underworld Sect.
Aside from Wang Baole, nobody had been able to guide the souls of the ghosts in all seven kingdoms. No one had drawn the Corpse Faces as well as him, with the aloof and unaffected manner of a divine spirit.
But… their paths were different.
Thus, all Chen Qingzi could do was sigh. Then, his gaze deepened as he looked at two figures walking on the lower floors.
One was a man and the other was a woman.
The woman was the pseudo-Underworld Child who had concealed her strength earlier, and the man was a plain-looking pseudo-Underworld Child who seemed to have a weak sense of existence. These two were walking next to each other, and in Chen Qingzi’s eyes, they seemed to slowly be merging together.
“Forbidden Underworld Art of Yin and Yang, returning to one to achieve the grand Dao… Working so hard because you don’t want to be just a backup plan? But unfortunately… your fate is a little lacking.” Chen Qingzi stared for a moment longer before withdrawing his gaze. Then, he looked toward… the deepest part of the Underworld Emperor Tomb.
There was a closed coffin lying there. Beside the coffin was a blurry figure sitting cross-legged in meditation.
This figure was impossible to see clearly, but an ancient aura of endless years suffused the entire floor. Seemingly detecting Chen Qingzi’s gaze, the figure lifted its head and opened its eyes.
Two gazes crossed the Underworld River to meet.
“Master… I want the Underworld Emperor’s remains, but you don’t want to give them to me. In that case… will you hand them over if it’s Little Junior Brother who goes?” Chen Qingzi murmured softly.
The figure there was the guardian of the tomb, as well as… Chen Qingzi and Wang Baole’s master.
His Daoist name was… Ming Kunzi!
Time passed. Wang Baole didn’t care how much time had passed, nor did he consider whether or not anyone was watching him. He didn’t even pay attention to the people who had entered the third floor after him.
He also didn’t think about why, despite the fact that he had emptied the second floor of ghosts, the people who came in after him still had souls around them.
All of this wasn’t important at all.
Regardless of whether or not the ghost world of the second floor was truly infinite, regardless of how the newcomers all looked at him with vigilance, regardless of the sudden appearance of more cliffs in the clouds with the arrival of each newcomer… nothing could affect Wang Baole’s focus in the slightest.
All he saw in front of him was the Corpse Faces he was drawing.
One brushstroke at a time, Corpse Faces appeared in front of him until all the faces that had emerged in his mind were drawn. Finally, the Underworld River around him disappeared, and the Corpse Faces he drew fused into the countless souls that had populated it. They all shone, causing Wang Baole’s body to be at the center of an endless sea of light.
His whole body seemed to be exude a holiness that made all the newcomers look at him with complicated expressions.
At this point, Wang Baole slowly recovered from his previous state of immersion.
“The next step is determining their fated trajectories.” As he murmured softly, a door of light appeared in front of him. Taking the souls which were now full of vitality instead of deathly aura, Wang Baole stood up and stepped through the door.
From beginning to end, he didn’t spare a single glance for those around him.
However, he felt two pairs of eyes, one above and one below, staring at him intently. He could guess the identity of the one above, but as for the one below… he didn’t know.
But he could sense that each time he arrived at a new floor, the call he had been feeling this entire time became clearer and clearer. This call was filled with warmth and kindness that got even stronger as he stepped through the door of light and entered the next floor.